Chapter 6

Chahiro was so excited, finally, it was Friday, and her, Kira, and Micah were all going to have a blast of a slumber party this weekend... The weather was a little more tolerable, now that summer was over and fall was right around the corner... She was so happy, even if she only had two friends, at least she had friends... Suddenly, a memory from one of her many nightmares surfaced in her mind... She was ten years old again, and she was crying and lonely, terrified because she could see through her arm, like she was vanishing into thin air... She could feel it as if it were really happening to her... The nausea, the lightheadedness, feeling weightless as if she were floating, yet her limbs also felt heavy like lead... And she remembered being cold... So very cold, until a young boys voice made her jump...

' Don't be afraid, Chahiro...' The boy, about fifteen said kindly, 'Eat this, and I promise, you'll feel better...

She remembered that she'd tried to fight him by pushing him away, but her hands just passed straight through him, almost as if she were a ghost... Her whole body shook with fear as he gently put a single berry to her lips... She saw herself as she finally gave in, eating the berry and swollowing as the sweet, candy like fruit went down her throat, and instantly became solid flesh and bone once more... Then, the memory of her dream faded, and she suddenly saw a man, with straight bluish black hair and shining green eyes standing in front of her... He looked to be in his twenties at least, and he had a worried look on his face...

" Chahiro..." The man said, his voice deep and beritone, " Listen to me... You are in grave danger... Do not go anywhere near the dark woods... It is not safe..."

" I don't understand..." Chahiro said softly, " Please, who are you?!"

" My name is Haku... We met five years ago in your time..." Haku said stepping closer to her and cupping her cheek, " Please... I care too much about you to ever let you get hurt again..."

Before Chahiro could ask this man named Haku why he, a complete stranger would care so much about her, Haku cupped her face in his hands and kissed her deeply and passionately... Haku was most certainly not a weak man by any means... He had tightly packed muscles, that Chahiro could feel clearly through his white haori... And his arms had nice build to them as well... And he was so warm, and smelled of the river after a heavy rainstorm, fresh and clean, like water and woods... Chahiro could feel herself growing dizzy from lack of oxygen since she'd been holding her breath when he'd first started the kiss... Suddenly, Haku began to flicker, as if he were a spirit about to lose the ability to remain solid...

" I'm sorry..." Haku said sadly, " I'm afraid I can't linger in the mortal world for very long at a time, but I had to come and see you, at least in spirit, since my body has been imprisoned by a witch... Forgive me Chahiro, but I will do everything in my power to protect you... No matter the cost..."

Haku kissed Chahiro one final time, before vanishing into thin air, leaving a very stunned Chahiro behind, not to mention an even more stunned Micah and Kira... After regaining her composure, Kira carefully approached Chahiro, so as not to startle the obviously flustered and nervous girl...

" Chahiro? What was that exactly?!" Kira asked, pointing in the direction that that man had disappeared into thin air...

" I... I'm not sure! Wait! Did you guys see him too?!" Chahiro gasped in surprise.

" We did..." Micah said worriedly, " Our grandma often told us stories about young men who die tragically are often stuck in limbo unable to cross over into the afterlife... They're sad and lonely souls who wish to find love... It seems like he's set his sights on you..."

" I'm being haunted?!" Chahiro gasped, " What should I do?!"

" Do what you can to comfort the poor spirit, but do not follow him into the spirit world... Your soul will be trapped forever if you do..." Micah said worriedly.

" Micah and I both know how sweet and kind hearted you are, Chahiro, try your best to help the spirit, but please, please be careful..." Kira said fearfully, " Right know, there's no way to tell for sure weather or not this spirit means to harm you... We don't want you to get hurt..."

" Do you guys know of any way that I can contact this spirit and see what he wants?" Chahiro asked...

" There is." Kira said.

" Mirror mirror... It's a game we used to play when we were kids..." Micah said, " Kira and I used to pick the name of a random person in the cemetery that had passed away and memorized the name, then we'd chant the name seven times in front of the bathroom mirror with candles and incense burning... We were just kids back then, so we had no idea that it would really work... We thought our imaginations were just too wild at the time..."

" Until dad caught us..." Kira said gravely, " We had accidentally summoned a dark spirit that had died a violent death at the hands of a police officer... The man was believed to be a robber when in fact, he'd only had his phone and a small teddy bear in his coat pocket... He had just bought it for his baby's birthday and was so excited to give it to her when the police shot him in the back... Thankfully, the spirit held no grudge against the children who had accidentally summoned him and told us both to stay safe and be thankful that our dad loved us so much... Then, he just vanished..."

" What happened next?!" Chahiro gasped.

" A few days later, the police officer that had killed that man was found dead..." Micah said with a shiver, " The man looked like his skin had been bleached stark white, and his hair had turned white as well... He'd literally been scared to death... The spirit came back after that, and bid us farewell, he even thanked us for freeing his spirit from this world so that he could finally rest in peace."

" Let's do it!" Chahiro said softly, " Tonight at the slumber party... He told me his name is Haku, maybe I can help him find peace if he's trapped!"

" Chahiro!" Micah said worriedly, " Were you not listening?! That spirit didn't hold any Ill will towards us, but not all spirits are as good as they appear! This could be really dangerous!"

" It's worth the risk if I can save him..." Chahiro said softly, " I just feel like I need to do this... My heart tells me tells me that I need to do this... I have to, no matter what happens to myself as a result..."